doopstr

Trust me, this thread will not turn into GeishaGate 2

Anyway, I want to get my wife a Coach bag and wallet for her birthday. I've never bought something like this. I was on their website and they sure have a lot of options. I'm pretty sure I know what kind of style bag she would like just from seeing what she carries. However there are all kinds of various colors prints etc.

My questions are. Is this something that I can successfully purchase? Will she just like which one I pick out? Are they easy to return? Should I simply tell her that I want to get her a bag for her birthday and let her pick one out at the store?

I ask these questions because there are certain things that I really don't like people buying for me. For instance it would be really nice of someone to purchase a TV for me, but there is a 99% chance that they would pick the wrong one.

mypoorTSX

For me I'm really picky about my handbags and I know many of my female friends that often return/exchange the purses their SO buys them. If you know her style, give it a try...if not let her know so she can pick one out herself. She'll love you for even thinking of such a great idea. COACH is really good about exchanges if you have a receipt, but I've never bought it online before.

The signature collection with the C logo is pretty popular (and played out), perhaps you should steer away from that and go with the leather handbags with no logo, much more classy imho. Have you also considered Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior, or Fendi? Good luck!

joerockt

Sure, you can get it for her, but she'll be taking it back the next day to get what she really wanted.

Just take her shopping.

michiamo

You can look at the coach website for styles. If you're not sure, keep the receipt and the tags (attached) for return. Good luck, I hope she likes it!

NetEditor

Ask Minch.

Will Y.

My wife hates stuff some stuff I think would be good for her (lightweight hiking boots, hooker heels, crotchless fishnet stockings ), so I just let her decide on clothing and accessories. Heck, she returns enough stuff she selects to begin with...
Amazingly, as for a Coach handbag, she picked out one that I would have picked for her (classic subdued black leather, without the cloth and all the visible logos).

Whiskers

Mike 350Z

But honestly, aren't these all 'played out' too?

I mean I see just as many of these as the Coach ones.

Don't forget Chanel.

blackglass

Or Longchamp. They have an amazing store in SoHo designed by Thomas Heatherwick that is a sight to behold. I only agreed to go with wifey because I saw a show about him a few months previous. The bags aren't that bad either, apparently.

Scottman111

Keep your dignity and take her shopping. :wink:

michiamo

That depends. Here in Ft. Lauderdale (at least in my neighborhood) they try and make you feel inferior if you dont carry a Louis, it's almost sad. I have a really pretty Coach, and someone actually said to me "that's nice, for a Coach." I was like WTF, was that a compliment or an insult?

That being said, Chanel is always classic, and you don't see everyone carrying one (maybe it's the $2k+ price tag).

Will Y.

God, I hope I don't see my wife carrying one.

Bob289

I bought my sister a Coach bag/ wallet combo a few months ago. I picked Coach because it is the cheaper one compared to the other brands. IMO I rather have gotten her a Prada but way out of my price range. I just think Prada is a slicker style. But Ive gotten her a black bag with black "C's" all around it so it sorta looks like a solid color from far away. I also threw in a matching wallet also. If my memory servers me right I spented about 600 bucks on that. The funny thing was I was talking to her on the phone to see what style she likes and she replied with "anything without big logos" of course I panic because the gift was already in the mail. Then again once she got it she liked it and kept it. I bought it at Neiman Marcus so the return policy is awsome if she choose to return it. They put this little tag on the box and if my sister wanted to return it it would be very easy for her. Just talk to her and in an off conversion see what type or style she likes.

Mike 350Z

Your sister??? Damn I spend like $50 tops on mine

Scottman111

If that

moeronn

Do you have any outlet malls near you? Nearly every time we pass one on a vacation, my wife has to stop there if she sees a Coach or Polo store. You don't necessarily get the latest styles, but you get newer and classic styles for decent prices compared to the stores. It just seems that most mall stores seem to carry many of the Fad-ish bags that will go out of style more quickly.

All this from being dragged to the Coach outlets and the Burberry factory outside of London.

Street Spirit

Just at all this cuz my everyday purse cost me a good $14 at Mountain Equipment Co-Op!
My other purses: ~$39.99 at most.

Scottman111

If only all women were like this.

doopstr

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll just take her shopping

hornyleprechaun

Good choice.. I'm a little late but I agree with the consensus

Bob289

Yea, She would get me gifts like every year being it my B-day or X-mas and most of the time I get her nothing. So I figured this was a long time comming and just buckled down and spent the money.

Fibonacci

I have yet to understand the handbag or shoe fetish. After five years of marriage and a small fortune in handbags purchased, let me share my experence...

1. Invariably, your wife will ask you to go shopping at *mall. Treat this excercise as goodwill credits (to be withdrawn by you at a later date).

2. She will invariably wander into Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, yada yada - excercise extreme caution and be on the lookout for cheapest pricetag and misdirect traffic accordingly. Nod your head in approval when she selects an item which you deem halfway acceptable, if you give her a shrug, she will keep looking until the point of exasperation (yours).

3. Take careful mental notes and go to the mall at a later date and pick out said item. Surprise her ~ it's a much more effective form of gift giving than just plunking your Amex on the counter in front of her.

4. Enjoy

Titand19

Minch was the first thing that comes to mind when I saw this.

mypoorTSX

I said mainly the COACH with the big logos are played out, even high schoolers have them. I remember I couldn't even afford that stuff in HS.

For the other brands I like to pick the patterns without logos that not many people have. It's almost my birthday, time to pick out another one!!!

revitupwriteitoff

^ what I did w/ her last purse almost verbatim. Works like a charm - just take her shopping for a shirt or something cheap & wander by the purses...if she doesn't stop by on her own & start looking at them, tell her some dumb story about a certain purse and that'll pique her interest.

If the shopping thing isn't your bag (pun intended), then take some time & decide the one you would get her, but buy her a gift card to the store & show her the model you were going to get her & tell her why you picked that one. That way, you've done the thinking part & the spending part without getting the rejection part.

Georgiapeach

Yes it is something that you can successfully purchase, but I don't recommend you purchasing it online because those that are not on coach.com are fakes. Depending one where you purchase it from it is easy to return i.e. Coach Store. I would go with tell her what you want to get her and let her pick it out (I hate surprises). Have to say that my husband pick out and bought me a coach wallet that matched like 3 of my coach bags I was surprised but he did a good job. You can do it you know her, you know what she likes just go for it, she would appreciate it a lot.

pinky_ttc

Wow way late, but was wondering - what did you end up getting?

I agree with the whole Coach being too common. The other designers are a tad expensive if you aren't willing to shell out $500+.

If you shell out $600 for a purse & wallet, you could've gotten a louis (without the wallet of course).

I totally agree that Chanel will always be a classic. I recently just got my first one and I'm so happy with it. Some of their bags are less than $2k. Mine was about $1,600. I went to Saks on 5th Ave a month ago or so and I saw the cutest bag for $600 (sale!!!). Unfortunately, I only limit myself one (designer) bag a year or I'd already have a huge collection - it's a good rule to live by.

I personally only purchase classics b/c classics will NEVER be out of style.

Bob289

OK, I would go Louis if I had known. I would have even go a little higher and spent like $800. But for some reason I have never thought of it. Oh well at this rate she is going to get another hand bag from me in another 20 years.

doopstr

I'm fairly certain this is the bag we ended up getting. http://www.coach.com/content/product...ategory_id=905

She also got a matching wallet.

S14 n Tsx

that is fucking crazy that how expensive those little bags can cost. How can you tell the differecnes between the real chanel and fake chanel? Don't you hate seeing people carrying around with fake one and acting like its all real? I just can't stand those 17-18 old girls carrying around with fake chanel, coach, LV, etc to act like its all real and shit.

bkknight369

Look to see if there is a Coach outlet store near you...you can save a ton of money from Mall prices

revitupwriteitoff

to coach's value...I bought my wife a coach purse a year and a half ago, she uses it at least 3/4 of the time & it really does look brand new.

pinky_ttc

My bag isn't really little, it's a large tote. I agree it's expensive and all, but I'm proud of it.

If you're a real bag person, then you can tell the differences. My leather on my bag is really supple leather. For chanel bags, it's easy to tell the difference. I love how people buy knockoffs and sport it as a real. Haha. A lot of the knock-offs of mine are SHINY black, when mine has just a smooth black look to it. The diamonds are distinctly stitched neatly and uniformly also.

Most of all, I just don't really give a crap about the fakes. I think it's really stupid to buy a fake when you can save the money over time and then purchase a real one, but hey that's only my .

I don't carry my chanel as often as my louis b/c the louis is something that I can beat around with and not care that much. The chanel was 2.5x the price of my louis.